11 May 2021
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the use of a Police dog to bite a young person (14 years old) following a pursuit was not justified in the circumstances.
On 8 October 2019, the young person was staying at his friend’s house in Cambridge. His friend decided to take his mother’s Volkswagen without her knowledge. At around 1.38am two officers, who had just attended a possible vehicle break-in, saw the young person driving the Volkswagen and thought he may have been involved. They also thought he may have been driving a stolen car as he did not match the registered owner’s description. They signalled the driver to stop and, when he did not, initiated a pursuit. The pursuit lasted for 18 minutes, reached speeds of approximately 150kph in a 100kph zone, and travelled approximately 30 kilometres.